(Cheap) Holiday Gifts for kids that like to make things

[mouser]

I thought we might start a thread about gifts for kids that like to make things (focusing on inexpensive ones mostly).

Here's a cheap one I saw that I think would be fun for a kid, i know i would have enjoyed making contraptions to mix flavors:
DIY Drinking Strawz
http://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/accessories/9470/


And here's one for cat lovers:
Make Your Own Cat Toys: Saving The Planet One Cat Toy At A Time (Paperback Book)
http://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Own-Cat-Toys/dp/1440462461

[mouser]

Not that cheap, but something I use every day (gift from my father):
Seltzer Maker
See this thread here with other gadgets as well: http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=5598.0

[mouser]

Paper airplane making books -- any boy (and many girls -- why dont girls like paper airplanes as much as boys??) would love to have one of these as a gift:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=paper+airplanes&x=0&y=0

[app103]

why dont girls like paper airplanes as much as boys??

When I was a kid, we had a paper airplane competition in school and everyone was required to participate, regardless of gender, regardless of interest.

We all made our planes and then went outside to the field and the one that went the farthest, won.

The winner was a girl. 


I made a lot of paper airplanes when I was a kid. For me the fun wasn't the folding or even the flying. It was the decorating.

My planes were a work of art!  I would spend the bulk of my plane making time on the details, drawing windows on them with passenger heads. Inside the center fold, if you opened it up you would see the seats and little scenes of things going on inside (including an occasional hijacking scene) 

[mouser]

that's great.. i dont think it ever occured to me to draw on the planes..

[40hz]

Provide them with resources that show how to make board games!

They're fun to make -  and incredibly cool. (Two important criteria for most kids.)

They can be as simple (inked paper gameboard and cardboard or "found" game pieces) or elaborate (i.e. inlaid wooden boards and hand-painted miniature playing pieces) as one cares to make them. So they're easily doable by any age group. And the "repeated giving" a game provides is always a plus. Especially if the game becomes a family classic.

I have an embroidered fabric Pachesi board with traditional shell "dice" and wooden playing pieces my grandmother made one summer when she was a girl that still gets happily played during family gatherings. It's well over 100 years old and will soon be handed over to a member of the next (4th!) generation. As long as this game is around, Anita Roy will always be present, along with her "children’s children's children," whenever the family sits down to play it.

Note: Best if they make an unusual game. Or one you can't easily buy such as Nine Men's Morris or Fanorona. There are some truly enjoyable and playable games from the past that aren't easily obtainable in commercial editions. Xiangqi (or Chinese chess) is a favorite of mine. Just different enough from traditional chess (which I'm not that great at) to level the playing field. (see below)

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